ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court has issued gag orders to the private schools spread across the country, restraining them from collecting the tuition fees for the summer vacations.
During the hearing of the case on Thursday, Salman Akram Raja and Shahid Akram represented the owners of private schools, however, the top judge decided in favour of parents and children, remarking that the bench was mulling to nationalize the pricey private educational institutes.
Mian Saqib Nisar further observed that for the first time the children would feel happy over the ruling, advising parents to spend the saved amount for the entertainment of the children.
The court also directed to issue a public notice regarding the verdict so the concerned quarters can be informed.
‘It is the inefficiency of the government that it has not prioritized education.A poor kid is unable to get education in private schools,’ remarked the judge.
He shared that more number of students are enrolled in private schools than state-owned institutes adding that either the bench would decide the fee structure or the government should pay handsome amount to parents for education.
‘It is the fundamental right of children to get an education and according to Article 25 of the constitution, the state is bound to provide education to the citizen for upto sixteen years,’ remarked the judge.
During the course of the hearing, the top judge addressed Shahid Hamid and inquiry about the salary of a grade-18 officer.
To this, the counsel replied that it must be somewhere between Rs 0.4 to 0.5 million though he was not sure about the exact amount.
Upon this, the chief justice felt irked and responded: For God’s sake, it is Rs 1,18,000 per month, adding that if such an officer wishes to get his children admitted in private schools, he would have to pay Rs 90,000 per month.
